Opening BND Files

The BND file type is primarily associated with 7-Zip.

BND	File extension: BND
	File type:	binary data archive container

What is a BND file?

BND files mostly belong to 7-Zip. BND files are binary container files that bundle related data from various sources, often used in games and specialized applications.
They can act as compressed archives (using ZIP or even RAR formats) or as custom binary binders. This means the same BND extension can house very different data types. For example:

They often store game assets such as textures, models, animations, and configuration files in titles like Armored Core, Dark Souls, Thief II, and Roblox.

They may include sound files or key binding configuration data used by games and other software systems.

They are also seen in non-game contexts, such as scientific tools (e.g. NWChem) and database binding files (e.g. IBM DB2 Bind File).

Opening a BND file depends on its internal structure. If it is built on standard compression (like ZIP), tools such as 7-Zip or WinRAR might work. For game-specific or proprietary formats, you may need dedicated extraction tools or check community guides. For instance, game communities related to Dark Souls or Armored Core sometimes provide utilities and documentation (Armored Core may serve as a reference for such cases).
FilExt.com note: Inspecting the file header with a hex editor can reveal whether the file is a standard archive or a custom binder, which helps decide the best method to open and work with it.

How to open BND files

You need a suitable software like 7-Zip to open a BND file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your BND file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a BND file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online BND Text Viewer

Choose your .bnd file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

BND file format:

The file format determines how the data is stored in the file. The initial characters of a file are called signature, sometimes also referred to as "magic bytes". The signature can be used to infer the file format. However, different programs can use the same file extension. Furthermore, a file extension can be renamed incorrectly and double-clicking on it will then display an error when it is opened. So you need a detailed analysis of a file to find out the format and the associated program. Our analysis of the BND files produces the following result:

The BND file ending is used by different programs with different formats. The file formats most commonly found in BND files are:

• 30% of all BND files use ZIP compression, so several files are compressed and saved in one BND file. Primarily 4 to 270 files are included. If you want to see the included files and images, simply rename the file extension to .zip and double-click it. The file size is in the range of 220 KB to 53 MB. GFXDATA.BND or Gamedata.bnd is a typical file name. Such files are related to sfxdata and sfxdatahigh.
• 15% of all BND files start with the magic bytes BND, which are always the first bytes of this file format. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. BND files are between 12 KB and 470 MB in size. Some examples of file names are DATA_CMN.BND or BUILDED.BND. Files like these are sometimes connected to data.

All the rest of the BND files (55%) have different formats, the following 7 formats exist: DB2 Bind, BIND and Thi. Often described as strings or steam. Just click the "Choose your .bnd file to analyze" button on this page to find out what your BND file is.